Tag Archives: stockholm

Today WIT Blogger Wailana reports from the archipelago in Stockholm. Thousands of islands cluster off the east coast of Sweden, and no better time to explore them than in summer! Sunshine and a lofty 68 degrees F make for a perfect Wednesday excursion. The m/s Vindhem departs at least biweekly from Gamla Stan, with dinner, live music, and all you can eat shrimp. After a full day of sightseeing, it’s just a short hop on the boat at 7pm.

Check out Wailana’s photos!

Wish you were in Europe this summer or fall? Give out agents a call! 503.224.0180 or email info@wittravel.com. Hope to see you and your family in the great European capitals before long.

As a Thanksgiving present, we are happy to share with you our latest Newsletter for Fall 2016! Read it Here as a PDF. Here you’ll find the latest museums in Europe, where to go to see the Northern Lights in N. America, cruises to Tahiti, and client reports to Dubai, Cuba, England, and more! Plus get the scoop on the Kenya 2017 Escorted Tour with WIT Owners Christina and John.

And just a Note: Our office and blog will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 24 & 25.

Today we feature a fun little some’in from the desk of our roaming social media correspondent, Wailana, currently living in Stockholm: Continue reading →

Alaska Airlines’ New Premium Class Section Now Available For Purchase
Upgrades start at $15, starting in January fliers will enjoy a seat with extra legroom and additional perks. The airline will debut its Premium Class section for travel on select routes beginning Jan. 5, 2017, as it continues a significant retrofit of its all-Boeing fleet. You can now purchase seats with up to four more inches of space between rows. In addition to four extra inches of legroom, passengers seated in Premium Class will enjoy early boarding, snacks and complimentary drinks. Alaska Mileage Plan MVP, Gold and Gold 75K members will be eligible for complimentary upgrades into Premium Class at the time of booking, or up to 24 hours in advance of travel, depending on status and the fare purchased. With the addition of Premium Class, Alaska’s most loyal customers who aren’t able to upgrade into First Class will see a significantly increased likelihood of getting a seat with more legroom near the front of the cabin. For more information around upgrades for elites see the Alaska Airlines blog: Treat yourself: Alaska Airlines launches new Premium Class. Initial prices for Premium Class seats range from $15 to $79 in addition to base fares and are based on the length of the flight. Seats in the new section can be purchased at the time of booking through alaskaair.comor Alaska’s mobile apps, during check-in, and at the airport.

Chinese Visa Scanning on the United App

On October 20 United Airlines introduced new functionality in their mobile app that makes travel to China easier than ever. Customers can use their iPhone, iPad or Android device to scan their Chinese visa to complete check-in through the United app. This new functionality delivers a convenient channel to provide visa information during the 24-hour check-in window prior to departure.

Icelandair Adds New US Destinations And Extra Flights

Icelandair is to increase its seat capacity by 11.5% next year as it continues to build up its network linking Europe and North America. The carrier is adding two new destinations in the US next year, Philadelphia and Tampa, which will take its number of North American routes up to 18 flying through its Reykjavik hub. Icelandair will begin flying to Philadelphia on May 30, 2017 and the service will initially run as a summer-only route which will operate until September 20, 2017. If it is successful, the route may eventually become year-round. Tampa will be added as a new destination from September 7, 2017, operating twice per week, and will complement the existing Orlando route, which runs five times per week. Both services will operate year-round from next September when there will be a daily service from Iceland to Florida. The airline also serves 26 destinations in Europe including five UK airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. Sister carrier Air Iceland also flies from Reykjavik to Aberdeen.

Ottawa’s Winterlude Festival Set For 2017

In 2017 Canada marks its 150th birthday, with holiday-makers invited to join in the countrywide, year-long celebrations. The main focus for national events will be the capital city Ottawa, where 12 epic months of big, bold, immersive and moving experiences will be on offer. The first major ‘National Partner Event’ of the Ottawa 2017 calendar will be a special edition of the annual Winterlude festival, which will wow visitors over three fun-filled weekends, 3 – 20 February. Next years’ will be the 39th edition of Winterlude, when Ottawa will be transformed into an enchanting city of all things snowy and frozen. Organizers are promising a festival that will be bigger and better than ever, with some 600,000 revelers expected to descend on the capital. The bumper sized celebrations will be centered in and around three downtown locations, all of which will be free of charge to the public.

US Preclearance Expanding To Stockholm In 2019

The United States and Sweden signed an agreement on Friday to expand the preclearance to Stockholm’s Arlanda airport. There are other airports wishing to join the program from number of countries. The Swedish government said it hopes the increased ease of travel will have positive consequences in making Sweden a more attractive place for international companies to base their headquarters in. The goal of the so-called Preclearance program is to extend security and thwart the arrival of unwelcome visitors before they reach the US but the advantage for all travelers is to clear Customs before getting aboard the plane, and to avoid long lines upon arrival. The airports embarking on the process to join the program include Bogota, Buenos Aires, Edinburgh, Kansai, Milan, Reykjavik, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo, and Saint Martin. More than 10 million travelers fly to the U.S. from those airports each year. The program already screens about 18 million travelers per year arriving from 15 airports mostly in Canada, the Caribbean and Ireland.

Hej hej! This is WIT Agent Wailana reporting in from Stockholm, Sweden!

Today I learned that Stockholm means “Isle of Logs,” very apropos if you consider how green the city is! I just moved here 3 weeks ago and have been exploring to my heart’s content. It certainly is a change from quiet and sleepy Reykjavik!

Context Travel

So last week, I went on a tour of the Sodermalm Neighborhood with Context Travel. We at Wittravel are longtime fans of Context Travel: small groups, personalized itineraries, expert guides—what’s not to love? Their docents are experts in their field, Ph.D.-level scholars of history, art and archaeology. Context Travel strive for unique approaches to already popular destinations—including Rome, New York and Shanghai—and always seek to offer a diverse selection to fit the traveler. We’ve booked our clients on numerous tours with them and always receive rave reviews. And now I can count myself among them as a firsthand fan!

And guess what—today, July 18, CT officially launch their Stockholm program! So if you’d like a unique perspective on this (or any other) beautiful city, offer, call your agent at Willamette Intl Travel at 503-224-0180 or email us at info@wittravel.com.

Kiki, my lovely docent

Södermalm Tour

The Södermalm Neighborhood Tour was a 3-hour intensive walk through the historic and modern parts of Södermalm Island in downtown STO. My guide was Kiki, an archaeologist from Uppsala who used to live in Södermalm and enlightened us of the obscure history of this hilly place: working class struggles, artists, witches, writers, a 18th century fad of brick houses, geology, executioners… she also shared personal anecdotes from the time she lived there for a decade during the 1970s, demonstrating how the neighborhood had evolved over the decades and what kind of people and protests flooded the streets over time.

Slussen area of Södermalm

Romantic Stockholm? “Back against the wall, and your legs around my waist. I kiss you again…”

The elegant Katarina Church

Kiki even brought her little dog Chinghiz Khan who was very well-behaved and added a bit of character to the tour

The dark side of Stockholm–a lot of women were hanged in this little square as witches